Ismail Kamdar – Balancing Contentment and Ambition Part 2

Ismail Kamdar

In this episode of Living Islam, Sh Ismail Kamdar continues the discussion on the importance of balancing contentment and ambition.

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The importance of contentment and happiness in Islam is emphasized, with challenges such as a diaper drive and winter warm stacks being discussed. The host advises individuals to focus on their goals and experiences, stay true to Islam, and not worry about the future. The segment also emphasizes the benefits of giving gifts and experiences to increase contentment and happiness, and provides tips for achieving this.

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			Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, you listening to radio will answer 19.4 Pm Tuesday
night after 9:15pm. And that means it is time for loving Islam. I'm your host, smile calm coming to
you live from the Durban studios, where we will be discussing a continuation from our topic two
weeks ago on contentment. Now for those of you who just joined us and who missed the previous
episode, we are looking at a couple of pieces related to the topic of contentment. We learned that
contentment in Islam is a very important topic. But we also learned that there are some
misconceptions about what is considered contentment.
		
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			There are misconceptions amongst many Muslims, and the one major misconception that plays on the
mind of many people who are working, who are starting their careers, who are maybe excelling in the
fields, who are very doing very well in their businesses. For many of these people, there is a
struggle going on internally. And if you are one of these people, then this episode will help you to
overcome that struggle. This juggle that we are talking about, is this idea that bounces around in
our mind that how do I balance ambition, with contentment, that I want to be ambitious in my career,
in my studies, in my business, in my work, at the same time, Islam teaches us to be content with
		
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			what Allah has blessed us with. So to understand this concept, let's take a look at the definition
of ambition and the definition of contentment. And see, is there really a contradiction between
these two terms? Meaning,
		
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			if there is no contradiction, you can be both ambitious, and content at the same time. So the word
ambition,
		
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			a few other words, which have the same meaning
		
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			are the words drive, determination, initiative,
		
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			eagerness, motivation, resolve, enthusiasm, zeal, hunger, commitment, aspirations, objectives,
desire, targets, dreams, these are but some of the meanings of the word ambition.
		
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			On the other side, we have the word contentment.
		
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			What does contentment mean? To be satisfied, to be gratified? It means fulfillment. It means
happiness. In fact, one of the Arabic words for contentment is a hoarder, which also translates as
happiness. It means inner peace, serenity, tranquility, comfort, ease. These are meanings of
contentment. So we know from the diseases that we discussed in the previous episode, that a believer
		
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			must be content with what Allah has decreed for him.
		
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			What
		
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			does this mean? That if you have a problem in your life, you must just leave it as it is.
		
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			No, this is not what is meant by being content. Being content in Islam
		
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			comes along with being ambitious.
		
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			First, you have to be ambitious. Work your hardest. Try to resolve your problems, build the best
career that you can build, build the best business that you can vote, do the most dour that you can
do. You be ambitious, you work hard. At the end, after all of that hard work, whatever you have to
bring home for that day, or that month or that year, you are happy with what Allah has given you.
That is contentment. So contentment in Islam does not mean that you don't work.
		
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			contentment in Islam does not mean that you don't strive for promotion. No, you work for that
promotion. But if you don't get it, you're content with the will of Allah tells you charge your
best, and allow world for you not to have it. Therefore, it is in your best interest not to have it.
This is the point that we all need to understand
		
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			that when we work hard, and we still don't get what we want,
		
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			then this is a large way of telling us that either this thing is not good for us. Or it's not good
for us right now. It's not what we need right now.
		
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			So this is something which we all need to understand
		
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			that contentment and content and ambition, contentment and ambition do not contradict each other.
		
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			Rather, the cont the contradiction lies in our misunderstanding, we must understand that being
content means not wanting more.
		
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			And that if you want more, you are not content. This is not the case. You can see Sahaba they were
the most content of people. But every time they conquered a new land, they moved on to conquer
another every time as a hobby built a big business. He continued to expand and he continued to build
upon it.
		
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			And he did this while being content.
		
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			Every time they learn something new, they continue to learn more and more.
		
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			So, contentment and ambition cannot contradict each other. If the Sahaba did both, they were
ambitious. In all their goals. The Sahaba were ambitious when it comes to our
		
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			to be ambitious when it came to spreading Islam across the world. politically.
		
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			They were ambitious, when it came to their businesses. At the same time, when they were unsuccessful
in meeting these ambitions, when they were unsuccessful in attaining any goals. They were happy with
what Allah has decreed for them.
		
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			This is the meaning of contentment, that you work hard, you have goals, you have ambitions, you have
a drive, you have motivation.
		
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			You have a vision, you work towards it. But at the same time, while you are working towards these
goals, whatever
		
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			does not reach you. Whatever remains outside your grasp. Whatever remains not a part of your
culture.
		
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			You accept the word of Allah, you are content with the word of Allah, you are pleased with the word
of Allah. This is contentment. You work hard. You do your best. And then you thank Allah for
whatever you whatever you have at the end of the day without feeling Why me.
		
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			So contentment is not to do
		
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			with how hard you work. No, that's where ambition comes in. contentment comes with, what did you
receive in return? That's where we are tested to see whether we will be content or not.
		
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			And this is why the J scholar of Islam even
		
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			Jamia Rahim Allah He stated that contentment is the greatest door through which one enters to Allah.
		
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			It is the source of tranquility for the worshiper and it is gentle on Earth.
		
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			Whoever does not feel contentment in this world
		
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			they will not enter the gender of the meaning whoever is not
		
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			happy with what Allah has decided for them in this world, then that person in the opposite life will
have to answer for that.
		
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			So, with that we come to our first Albert Drake for today. When we return we will start looking at
some practical steps on how we can maintain contentment. So we'll be back after this break.
		
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			International
		
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			Assalamu alaykum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. You listening to living Islam on Radio alonside I'm
your host, smile calm coming to you live from the Durban studio. And we are talking about
contentment, how to maintain contentment and happiness in this world. And just as a reminder, what
does contentment mean? contentment does not mean that you don't work hard. contentment does not mean
that you don't aim higher. No, you work your hardest, you aim your highest, you aim your highest,
you work for better goals. At the same time. You are happy with whatever Allah sends your way in
return. This is the meaning of contentment.
		
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			So contentment in Islam in Islam also is happiness. And that's why one of the Arabic words that we
often translate as contentment is Radha, Radha, which actually means to be happy. So contentment and
happiness is the same thing. Should we talk about being content, we talking about being happy. You
can be ambitious and happy at the same time. You can have goals and be happy at the same time. You
can be aiming for that promotion and still happy with your current job at the same time. That's what
you need to find that balance about. You need to be able to balance that happiness
		
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			and that ambition. So how do you feel happy?
		
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			You know, for many of us, our brain is wired to be sad. Our brain is wired to think negatively.
		
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			You have a glass of water in front of you and you thinking is half empty.
		
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			The key to contentment is to look at the glass is half full.
		
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			So how do we maintain happiness? Number one, by obeying Allah and worshiping Him as He deserves to
be worshipped. Because at the end of the day,
		
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			happiness comes from Allah
		
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			He created us, he is in control of our hearts, he is in control of our situations, he is the one who
can open the doors for you to receive that which you wish,
		
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			he is the one
		
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			who can make miracles happen.
		
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			So, if we are living lives of this obedience to Allah,
		
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			we cannot expect
		
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			real happiness.
		
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			And we see this in the modern world, the people are looking everywhere, for happiness.
		
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			First, they thought if they get fancier cards and bigger houses and bigger bank accounts, they'd be
happy.
		
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			But as psychology has proven, once you have enough money, to maintain your basic needs, and then
some, anything more that you're earning above, that doesn't really increase your happiness.
		
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			So people
		
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			learn the hard way
		
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			that happiness
		
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			does not come from having more possessions.
		
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			Then people started looking elsewhere. And you see this change in the West in the past few decades,
that people from very Western and modern backgrounds
		
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			began to look into meditation, and Eastern religions.
		
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			And a variety of Eastern practices.
		
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			If you ask them, why, why are you doing this? You know, you from the west, you've got all these more
than things? Why do you want to learn from the east? They all have the same answer. They're not
happy. They're not content. They feel like something is missing from their lives.
		
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			And they look to the east to Asia.
		
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			And they see people
		
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			who are living much happier lives,
		
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			even with less wealth.
		
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			So they want you to know,
		
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			what is it that you are doing that makes you happy,
		
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			that we are not doing
		
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			and so many people from these backgrounds
		
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			finally realized the only way to be happy
		
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			is to be in the obedience of the Creator.
		
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			And this is why many people in the West are converting to Islam.
		
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			They all say the same thing. Before Islam.
		
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			They felt a lack of contentment, a lack of happiness, a lack of inner peace. Islam gave them death.
Islam gave them happiness. Islam gave them in a peace. Islam gave them contentment.
		
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			So my brothers and sisters, why are we running away from the one thing that can make you happy? and
searching for happiness in all those things that will actually make you miserable.
		
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			You run away
		
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			from sola
		
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			towards the alcohol and the drugs and the Xena.
		
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			Don't you realize that Salah will make you happy. While those alcohol and drugs come with nothing
but problems. They will make your life miserable for years on end. So why then do we abandon death
which will make us happy and content and peaceful and run after death which brings misery and
problems to our lives in the lives of our loved ones.
		
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			Satan has deceived us.
		
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			So if you want to be happy,
		
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			the starting point is very simple.
		
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			change your life today.
		
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			change your life today.
		
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			become one of those who obey Allah.
		
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			become one of those who tried your best to be good Muslims. Yes, you can't be perfect. I'm not
perfect, nobody's perfect. You try your best. And Allah will forgive the rest.
		
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			So that's the root of happiness, the obedience of Allah, the worship of Allah. And I guarantee you
if you're someone who obeys Allah and worship Allah Devi, no matter what problems you are going
through, when you pray your Salah when you put your head on the ground in such a way you feel
happiness, you feel in a peace, even for just that moment because you are connected with your
Creator.
		
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			The people who don't pray, they don't get that. They don't get that experience. Because happiness
begins in your relationship with Allah subhana wa tada
		
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			What else can we do
		
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			to seal this happiness and contentment?
		
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			Well, if you are not feeling happy right now you're feeling miserable right now you're thinking of
all the bad things in your life right now. Here's something that you can do.
		
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			Stop
		
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			and think about the good things in your life.
		
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			And for every single Good thing you think about, thank Allah, see, Alhamdulillah and even something
really major
		
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			didn't make such stuff, such as sugar, sugar, thanking Allah for that beautiful gift that He has
given you. So you close your eyes. Now you've got all these negative thoughts go into your mind, I
want a better car, I want a better job. Why don't they have this? Why don't I have that? Stop it.
Stop that way of thinking.
		
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			Now close your eyes and think Alhamdulillah I am a Muslim.
		
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			Alhamdulillah I live in a community of Muslims. Alhamdulillah I worship Allah
		
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			hamdulillah I have a home Alhamdulillah I have food Alhamdulillah I have water Alhamdulillah I have
heat. I have clothing hamdulillah and start to count your blessings.
		
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			You will realize something amazing
		
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			that the amount of good things that Allah has blessed you with
		
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			far more than you ever imagined. The problem is that you were focused on what you don't have. And
they'll always be something that you don't have. Because this is doing you know, even if you're
Donald Trump, there's something that you don't have, like good manners, right? Everybody has
something that they don't have. So
		
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			don't focus on what you don't have. Focus on what you have. Every everything that you think about
that you have.
		
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			thank Allah for it.
		
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			Another way
		
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			to experience happiness
		
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			is to spend time
		
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			with those who love you,
		
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			your family
		
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			and your friends. Of course, we're talking about good company or not bad company. If you spend time
		
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			with people who are materialistic,
		
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			they may just make you more unhappy.
		
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			If you spend time with people who like to backbiting and gossip, they will make you more unhappy.
		
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			But if you have a family member or friend, who is genuine good company, and who loves you spend time
with that person.
		
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			Just the time you'll spend together will increase your happiness and this.
		
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			Cherish these moments. Allah has blessed you with family. He has this you experience. Enjoy it. And
thank Allah for it.
		
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			That's happiness you experience that love you experience when you're with them. That is a gift from
Allah.
		
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			Some people
		
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			do not have families.
		
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			Some people do not have any friends. So if you have spent time in the company, and thank Allah for
blessing you with good family and good friends.
		
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			Another thing that you can do to stay happy
		
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			is to avoid worrying about the two things which are opposite to each other, the past and the future.
		
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			There are many people who are not happy
		
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			because they are clinging to the past.
		
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			And there are many people who are not happy because they are anxious about the future.
		
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			You have to let both of those go to experience happiness today.
		
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			Yes, all of us experienced tragedies in our past
		
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			all of us.
		
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			There is nobody who I have ever met who has never experienced something tragic.
		
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			This is a part of living in Geneva.
		
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			The people you meet
		
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			What happy are those who put their past in the past, and they're focusing on today.
		
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			But don't think that they don't have a past as well.
		
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			If something bad happened many years ago, and the memory of it is keeping you miserable today,
		
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			the key to happiness for you is to let it go.
		
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			Just let it go.
		
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			If you let go of the past,
		
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			then you will experience happiness. Now.
		
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			It's the same with the future.
		
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			We all worried
		
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			you know, where is our country headed.
		
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			We worried about the crime rate. We worried about the corruption.
		
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			We worried about our families.
		
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			We worried about losing what we have.
		
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			But we can't live our life based on worries 80% of which would never come true.
		
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			80% of the things we worry about. Actually things that will never happen just in our mind.
		
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			So don't worry about them.
		
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			Focus on now.
		
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			Focus on now if you have something good in your life now, say Alhamdulillah thank Allah for it and
enjoy now. Don't worry about whether you will still be around in the future or not. Nothing will be
around in the future Not you, not i. So enjoy today and stop being anxious about tomorrow.
		
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			We need to take another break now.
		
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			When we return, we will continue talking about steps for
		
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			increasing your contentment and happiness so don't go away. We'll be right back after this break.
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			Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh you listening to living Islam on radio wasn't star I'm
your host smile calm coming to you live from Durban studio, we are talking about contentment and
happiness tips for helping you to feel it today.
		
00:29:06 --> 00:29:43
			Everybody has their test, everybody has their problems. But you will find that when it comes to
dealing with the tests and problems of life. There are two types of people, those who are sad, and
those who are still able to be happy. And when you look at the life of the Prophet salallahu alayhi
wasallam no matter what his community was going through, he would find ways to cheer people up. He
would play with the Trojan, you know, he would make people laugh, he would always smile at people.
This is destroying of Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam always to smile and to be cheerful and
to bring joy and happiness to people
		
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46
			with the Srinagar
		
00:29:47 --> 00:29:50
			still many of us always frowning
		
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			to such an extent that some of the young people they look at the older people and they think
frowning must be sooner because they always frowning
		
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			All the time, in reality is the opposite. We need to be smiling, we need to be happy. We need to
experience happiness no matter what's going on in the world, because there will always be problems
in dunya. Happiness is an internal thing. In the previous episode we spoke about how contentment is
an internal act of worship. It is a means of worshiping Allah inside of yourself. So the effects of
contentment is also experience inside of yourself, the effects of contentment,
		
00:30:38 --> 00:30:42
			ah, happiness and inner peace.
		
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			So this comes inside of you.
		
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			So what can we do?
		
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			To experience contentment. Today,
		
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			before we went for the break, we spoke about the importance of obeying Allah.
		
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			Because all happiness is from Allah. And if we are living lives of this obedience to Allah, we
cannot expect to be happy.
		
00:31:09 --> 00:31:19
			We spoke about the importance of thinking about all the good things in your life and thanking Allah
for it. And not worrying about the past or the future, but focusing on today.
		
00:31:21 --> 00:31:24
			The next thing that you need to keep in mind,
		
00:31:25 --> 00:31:29
			if you want to experience contentment is to smile.
		
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31
			to smile.
		
00:31:33 --> 00:32:18
			Right, you know, you may be feeling a bit down, just try smiling, smiling, send signals to the brain
to be happy. In that way, you can make yourself feel happy. You can, you can make yourself happy,
even though you may not be at the moment, try to smile as much as possible as often as possible,
because smiling is the sweetener. And smiling is the act of reward. It not only cheers you up, but
it cheers other people up as well. Have you all need that today. With so much of bad news in the
world, you need happiness, we need to be there to make each other feel happy. Be the kind of person
that people see the smile, because you've been drawn to the hearts of people.
		
00:32:20 --> 00:32:28
			Another thing you can do to experience happiness right now is to go out and do something nice for
somebody else, and expect nothing in return.
		
00:32:29 --> 00:32:49
			So whether it's doing a random act of kindness to a stranger, or helping a poor person, or just
surprising a family member, or your spouse, or your kids with something nice that they weren't
expecting, and then seeing the happiness in their face, when you did something nice for them, that
they did not expect at all.
		
00:32:50 --> 00:32:58
			That will bring you a level of happiness that you would not have experienced if you just spent that
money or time on yourself.
		
00:33:00 --> 00:33:00
			Right.
		
00:33:01 --> 00:33:06
			So try it if you're not the type of person to share and to do for others, then give it a try.
		
00:33:08 --> 00:33:11
			You will experience real happiness when you do this.
		
00:33:13 --> 00:33:18
			So make look do this of spending on others to make this a practice that you spend on others.
		
00:33:19 --> 00:33:27
			And this is a teaching of Islam. But you will find that modern psychologists teach the same thing.
		
00:33:29 --> 00:34:05
			That when someone is suffering from depression, they tell them to do community service. Why is it
actually a counseling method that people use nowadays, that is someone is suffering from depression,
they are advised to do some form of community service, to give back to the community to help others
to serve others. Why? Because helping others makes you feel happier. Very often that depression
comes from the fact that we feel that we are not valuable, we feel that we are worthless. But guess
what, if you are helping others, you're not going to feel worthless anymore. Because you're not
you're helping someone you're making a difference.
		
00:34:06 --> 00:34:09
			So don't underestimate this point.
		
00:34:10 --> 00:34:21
			doing nice things for other people is a way of experiencing happiness and making others happy. It
has an effect on everybody. And that's why it's so rewarding in Islam.
		
00:34:22 --> 00:34:28
			You can imagine the reward for the people's entire lives are dedicated to doing things for others.
		
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31
			Now, let me control from it.
		
00:34:34 --> 00:34:50
			Another thing that works for me for experiencing or increasing happiness and contentment, and it may
work for you as well. hamdulillah we live in a beautiful part of the world Durban South Africa. So
one of the things that works for me is spending time in nature.
		
00:34:51 --> 00:34:55
			You know, take a walk in one of the many beautiful parks here in Durban
		
00:34:56 --> 00:35:00
			and just sit down and look at the trees and
		
00:35:00 --> 00:35:01
			grass and the streams,
		
00:35:02 --> 00:35:16
			you will feel your soul being uplifted. You will feel happiness I know I do. And I do sometimes when
I'm stressed out or anxious, I just take a drive to a park in a sit down and I look at the trees.
And
		
00:35:17 --> 00:35:29
			it just brings joy, to my heart is something I can't explain. It's something that works for me. So a
fetus was shared with you, perhaps it will work for you as well.
		
00:35:31 --> 00:35:32
			Spending time in nature, why?
		
00:35:34 --> 00:35:34
			Well,
		
00:35:35 --> 00:35:36
			in the modern world,
		
00:35:38 --> 00:35:40
			we tend to be surrounded by
		
00:35:41 --> 00:35:44
			things that we have made, things have been made by people.
		
00:35:46 --> 00:35:57
			And many of these things have been made by people. They don't bring happiness to us. They bring
irritation, they being anxiety, they bring worries.
		
00:35:59 --> 00:36:00
			But nature,
		
00:36:02 --> 00:36:09
			the trees, the grass, the rivers, the streams, the ocean, all of this was created by Allah.
		
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12
			I mean, you look at the creation of Allah,
		
00:36:13 --> 00:36:16
			you are reminded of the power of Allah.
		
00:36:17 --> 00:36:19
			And that makes you feel happy.
		
00:36:20 --> 00:36:30
			That makes you feel happy. When you're connected with Allah. Spend time in nature. And you will feel
your happiness and contentment increasing.
		
00:36:32 --> 00:36:33
			Another thing that you can do
		
00:36:36 --> 00:36:37
			to increase your happiness
		
00:36:38 --> 00:36:41
			is to have a record of happy memories.
		
00:36:43 --> 00:36:47
			Right? things that happened in your past that really made you happy.
		
00:36:48 --> 00:36:53
			And when you think about our lives, all of us,
		
00:36:54 --> 00:37:04
			our lives are made up of moments that made us really happy. And moments that made us really sad or
really humiliated or really embarrassed, or very angry.
		
00:37:05 --> 00:37:09
			But on the spur of the moment, most of us,
		
00:37:10 --> 00:37:13
			we are able to remember
		
00:37:14 --> 00:37:18
			all the sad memories, the angry memories,
		
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20
			the humiliating memories.
		
00:37:21 --> 00:37:24
			But for some reason we don't remember the happy memories
		
00:37:25 --> 00:37:26
			as quickly.
		
00:37:27 --> 00:37:28
			So here's what you can do.
		
00:37:30 --> 00:37:38
			Make a list of happy memories. Make a list of things that happened in your life that brought genuine
happiness to your heart.
		
00:37:39 --> 00:38:02
			And genuinely feeling sad. You focus on those memories. Don't focus on all the bad things that
happen in your life focus on the good things. Because very often the sadness comes because we've
forgotten. We've forgotten how many good things have happened to us, we've forgotten how much
happiness we experienced in this world. And because we forgotten it, we fall deeper and deeper into
sadness.
		
00:38:04 --> 00:38:13
			So try to collect your happy memories. And to think about them whenever you feel the sadness
creeping in.
		
00:38:15 --> 00:38:17
			Another thing that you can do
		
00:38:18 --> 00:38:19
			to experience happiness today
		
00:38:22 --> 00:38:26
			is to express your love for your family members.
		
00:38:28 --> 00:38:46
			So why not some people nowadays, find it weird to express love for their family members. I don't
understand this. But some people never tell the children I love you. Why? Some people never tell the
parents I love you. Some people don't even tell the spouse I love you
		
00:38:47 --> 00:38:55
			know, some people never hug. They never kiss. They never express the love for the family members
		
00:38:56 --> 00:38:57
			in any way.
		
00:38:58 --> 00:39:03
			And if you ask them, Do you love unity? Yes, I love them. They know I love them. So I must say see.
		
00:39:04 --> 00:39:16
			And in doing so you have deprived yourself and your family have one of the biggest sources of of
happiness in your home. And that is expressions of love.
		
00:39:17 --> 00:39:30
			When you express your love to your spouse, or your children or your parents, and if they express
their love to you, whether it's really hug or release by word, whatever it is,
		
00:39:31 --> 00:39:34
			immediately everyone's happiness increases.
		
00:39:35 --> 00:39:59
			So why are we so unable to do this? I mean, this is the sooner as well. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi
wa assembla kisses Wiseman ever he would leave for the masjid. And Sahaba knew how much he loved his
wives he was he wouldn't feel shy to say it. Once we wanted this to have I asked him who is the most
beloved person to you. He said I shall open in front of other men. He said
		
00:40:00 --> 00:40:18
			that his wife was the most beloved person to him. So when we so shy of expressing love to our family
members, by doing so, we are depriving ourselves and our family members have moments of happiness.
Make your home a home in which love is expressed.
		
00:40:20 --> 00:40:28
			Kiss your wife, Tyler, I love you. There's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't make you any less
man. If anything, it makes you more manly highs.
		
00:40:30 --> 00:40:32
			Hug your children. Tell them that you love them.
		
00:40:33 --> 00:40:40
			The meeting the agent has taken over your body, but they'll get used to it. And they'll be happy
about that change.
		
00:40:42 --> 00:41:25
			But express your love for your family. I guarantee you, if our homes become homes in which people
are not afraid to express their love for each other, the happiness in that home will multiply.
Multiply. And very often I find when I deal with families where people are angry and miserable and,
and depressed very often, it comes down to it being a home where nobody knows that the other person
loves them. Everybody assumes that the family doesn't love them, because nobody expected it. So if
you have a home like that, make a change today, make a chunk of change right now and make your home
a home where people express their love for each other.
		
00:41:28 --> 00:41:47
			We need to take our final break now when we return we will summarize on containment and tips on how
to gain it Don't go away. We'll be right back after this break, the annoncer Foundation now tarbiyah
and education establishing the foundations of Islamic civilization in South Africa.
		
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			International
		
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			salaamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuhu you listening to living Islam on the radio as answer
this is I am smell calm coming to you live from the Durban studio. And today we spoke about
contentment and happiness, how to achieve it and what it really means. We said that contentment does
not mean sitting back and doing nothing with your life. No.
		
00:44:36 --> 00:44:59
			contentment means that you work hard. You do your best. you aim high. You have high goals. You work
towards those goals. But at the end of the day, whatever Allah sends you away in return, you are
happy with the decree of Allah. You do not fight to Allah. You're not question his decision is not
		
00:45:00 --> 00:45:11
			See why me is not become arrogant, you do not become greedy, he will do your best. And thank Allah
for what risk he provides for you in return.
		
00:45:13 --> 00:45:15
			This is what is meant by contentment.
		
00:45:16 --> 00:45:21
			And we said some of the ways in which we can experience this in our lives
		
00:45:23 --> 00:45:24
			by obeying Allah,
		
00:45:26 --> 00:45:27
			obey Allah
		
00:45:29 --> 00:45:31
			and worship Him as He deserves to be worshipped.
		
00:45:33 --> 00:45:34
			If we do this,
		
00:45:35 --> 00:45:44
			we will be closer to Allah subhana wa Tada. And this will help us to experience true happiness.
		
00:45:45 --> 00:45:50
			Because you cannot experience true happiness, if you are not connected to your Creator.
		
00:45:52 --> 00:46:01
			Another thing we said that we can do to experience happiness is to think about every good thing in
our lives. And thank Allah for all of it.
		
00:46:03 --> 00:46:12
			You will be surprised how many things Allah has blessed us with. But because we are focused on what
we don't have,
		
00:46:13 --> 00:46:21
			we ended up not doing or not appreciating that which we do have.
		
00:46:24 --> 00:46:28
			Another thing that's really important for experiencing contentment
		
00:46:29 --> 00:46:32
			is that we don't worry about the past.
		
00:46:33 --> 00:46:48
			Whatever happened in the past, it's over. You can't change it, you made a mistake, that mistake is
done. It's in the history books. It's over. But you can focus on today, you can focus on having a
better day today.
		
00:46:49 --> 00:47:03
			You can focus on having a better life today. You can focus on being happy today. So don't cling to
the past. Focus on now.
		
00:47:05 --> 00:47:06
			At the same time,
		
00:47:07 --> 00:47:19
			don't spend your life anxiously worried about the future. When is this going to break? When is this
person going to die? When is that person gonna get sick? When I'm going to lose this when I'm going
to lose that? No.
		
00:47:20 --> 00:47:22
			That future may come. It may not come
		
00:47:24 --> 00:47:27
			80% of what you worry about doesn't end up happening.
		
00:47:28 --> 00:47:29
			So why worry?
		
00:47:30 --> 00:47:37
			live today? Enjoy today thank Allah for today worship Allah today. If a day comes when something
goes wrong,
		
00:47:38 --> 00:47:46
			take it as it is from Allah and deal with it accordingly. If it doesn't come from the law, why worry
about it?
		
00:47:48 --> 00:47:50
			Why well why don't we be optimistic about the future?
		
00:47:52 --> 00:47:58
			Why don't we optimistic or Allah has in store for us? instead of always thinking the worst.
		
00:48:00 --> 00:48:09
			So be optimistic. inshallah things will get better. Insha Allah if I obey Allah and I'm thankful to
Allah, I will get even more blessings.
		
00:48:11 --> 00:48:23
			think positively. Allah subhanho wa Taala says, in a hurry so could see. I am, as my servant thinks
of me. Allah says I am as my servant thinks of me.
		
00:48:24 --> 00:48:30
			So how do we think of Allah? Do we think negatively? Or do we think positively,
		
00:48:32 --> 00:48:36
			be positive, and you will experience happiness in your life.
		
00:48:37 --> 00:48:48
			Smile, it's thinner, it's charity. It makes you happy. And it makes the people around you happy. So
smile,
		
00:48:50 --> 00:48:52
			do nice things for other people.
		
00:48:53 --> 00:49:00
			Anytime that you do something nice for somebody else, you are causing ripple effects of happiness.
		
00:49:01 --> 00:49:09
			And anytime that you do something mean to somebody else, you will cause ripple effects of misery.
		
00:49:10 --> 00:49:11
			So if you
		
00:49:13 --> 00:49:14
			shouted somebody,
		
00:49:15 --> 00:49:32
			you made that person miserable. That person in return me to their anger and somebody else, and that
person may become miserable. And that person may take all the anger in somebody else. And it causes
to spread. But you don't have to do that. If
		
00:49:33 --> 00:49:59
			If you smiled at someone, and gave somebody a gift that they did not expect. You just increase your
happiness and this and they in return may do something kind for somebody else, and make that person
happy. And this could go on and on causing a ripple effect of happiness and joy and giving in
society. So give whenever you're feeling down
		
00:50:00 --> 00:50:04
			contribute to society give something to somebody else, do a random act of kindness,
		
00:50:06 --> 00:50:09
			you will feel your happiness increasing.
		
00:50:11 --> 00:50:19
			Spend time in nature, among the trees amongst the gardens in the parks, by the ocean.
		
00:50:21 --> 00:50:28
			and observe the creation of Allah. And feel that happiness that comes from being connected to the
creation of a wasp hanger with Allah.
		
00:50:30 --> 00:51:09
			spend quality time with your loved ones. And verbally express your love for them, and hug them and
kiss them. Let your family know that you love them. This is such a easy way of feeling happy. If you
grab your spouse, or your child or your parents and hug them for at least six seconds, not talking
about a quick hug, no, hug them properly, hug them and hold them for at least six seconds, you will
feel happiness inside of you. This has been psychologically proven that when two people who care
about each other hug for at least six seconds, then this causes happiness to come into the brain.
		
00:51:11 --> 00:51:12
			Because of this feeling of happiness,
		
00:51:13 --> 00:51:16
			to express your love for your family members
		
00:51:17 --> 00:51:22
			physically, express it verbally. Tell them that you love them.
		
00:51:23 --> 00:51:24
			Buy them gifts,
		
00:51:25 --> 00:51:31
			and gifts. Don't be a miser people, those people who spend on the spouses and the children and the
appearance
		
00:51:33 --> 00:51:53
			when you see their happiness in their face, when they seeing what you have bought for them, which
they did not even have to ask for. That will make you feel happy, as well. So buy gifts for your
loved ones. Feel that joy, of giving experience the joy of giving to others.
		
00:51:55 --> 00:52:04
			Another thing you can do to experience happiness right now. If you are burnt out if you are tired,
if you had a heavy difficulty at work,
		
00:52:05 --> 00:52:49
			simply don't stress, don't worry about it, have some fun, have some fun, to take your mind off your
problems. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. But Allah allows it, Allah created us, Allah
knows us. Allah knows our needs. And so he has created 1000s of ways for us to have fun in a
holiday. And these halaal forms of fun, they make you happy, they bring happiness to you and your
family. So don't feel bad to enjoy that which Allah has made a lot for, you know, these things are
hot out. So enjoy it. That is your way of thanking Allah for giving you these herbal forms of having
fun.
		
00:52:52 --> 00:52:55
			Another thing that you can do, to experience happiness
		
00:52:57 --> 00:53:34
			is to start a productive and beneficial hobby. So maybe you've got too much time on your hands. And
because you've got too much time on your hands, thinking about things that make you miserable. You
think about things that make you sad, or you reading things that make you sad. How about you use
that time instead, to do things that make you happy to do things that benefit others to do things
that make this world a better place. Suddenly, you don't have time to think about the things that
make you sad. Suddenly, you don't have time to sit and worry, because you're too busy enjoying
yourself by doing things which are helpful and beneficial.
		
00:53:36 --> 00:53:43
			If you find yourself with too much time on your hands, and this is causing you to think about
thoughts that are causing the negative then
		
00:53:44 --> 00:53:50
			get a beneficial hobby get a beneficial past time and use that time for that instead.
		
00:53:51 --> 00:53:54
			So these are my tips for
		
00:53:56 --> 00:53:59
			increasing your contentment and happiness.
		
00:54:00 --> 00:54:02
			It is a very important topic.
		
00:54:03 --> 00:54:07
			Something which all of us need a reminder of very often.
		
00:54:09 --> 00:54:30
			Remember contentment does not mean that you don't work hard. No, keep working hard. But at the same
time while you are working hard. Don't forget to be happy. Don't forget to enjoy what Allah has
destroyed. Don't forget to experience the love of your family members and to experience the halaal
fun that Allah has destroyed.
		
00:54:31 --> 00:54:49
			Yes, life is full of ups and downs. They are always things to worry about. But they are also always
things to be thankful for. Focus on the latter, and your life will be happy. Whatever tests you are
currently facing,
		
00:54:50 --> 00:54:51
			they will pass
		
00:54:52 --> 00:54:54
			so don't allow anxiety to consume you.
		
00:54:56 --> 00:54:59
			Whatever good you're currently enjoying with
		
00:55:00 --> 00:55:09
			Also in one day, so enjoy every moment of it. And don't let time pass where you are taking it for
granted and not enjoying it.
		
00:55:11 --> 00:55:13
			This is life. This is the dunya
		
00:55:15 --> 00:55:15
			we all
		
00:55:17 --> 00:55:28
			have a choice to make. We can go to the dunya, sad, and angry and miserable and greedy. We only make
our own lives said
		
00:55:29 --> 00:55:42
			or we can go to the junior content, and happy and excited and ambitious, and most importantly, in
the obedience of Allah subhanho wa Taala.
		
00:55:44 --> 00:55:52
			So my brothers and sisters, I hope that you have benefited from today's presentation, as we speak
about contentment and happiness in Islam.
		
00:55:53 --> 00:56:11
			And don't forget that this is all about loving Islam. It's not about listening. It's not about
speaking. It's about loving. So make sure you take whatever you've learned today. And you practice
it and you live by it.
		
00:56:12 --> 00:56:28
			With this, we come to your conclusion for today's episode. I will see you all next week. Same place
same time right here on our smart camera signing up to Dhaka here was Salam Alaikum warahmatullahi
wabarakatuh moochie